The Greenland ice sheet, the second largest ice mass in the world, consisting of layers of compressed snow from more than 100,000 years, contains in its ice today's most valuable record of past climates. The Greenland Ice Sheet has experienced record melting in recent years and is likely to contribute substantially to sea level rise as well as to possible changes in ocean circulation in the future.

Tidal flats at Westerhever, Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park, GermanyThe Dutch-German-Danish Wadden Sea, with its tidal flats, tidal creeks, estuaries, salt marshes, beaches, dunes and islands is one of the last relatively unspoilt nature areas in Europe. The tidal rhythm determines the p...

By Peter Prokosch

Raftsund, Lofoten/Vesterålen, NorwayRaftsund between the Norwegian archipelagos of Lofoten and Vesterålen. It is one of the most scenic fjords in Northern Norway, visited by cruise ships. Tourists are impressed by the beauty of nature and often take the op...

By Peter Prokosch

Maassai People, Kraal near Masai Mara Game Reserve, KenyaThe Maasai live in Kraals arranged in a circular fashion. The fence around the kraal is made of acacia thorns, which prevent lions from attacking the cattle. It is a man's responsibility to fence the kraal. While women c...

By Peter Prokosch

Cold water corals, Lophelia pertusa, beach of Vanna, Troms, Northern NorwayWith wind and waves, samples of underwater sea fauna and flora become visible on beaches. Beside the bivalve Icelandic cyprine, Arctica islandica, remains of cold water coral reefs are found here. Lophelia pertusa is a s...

By Peter Prokosch

Soviet monument, Grumant, South Coast of Icefjord, Svalbard, 1982Grumant was a Soviet Russian settlement in Svalbard, Norway, established in 1912 and abandoned in 1965. The population peaked at 1106 in 1951/52 (including Coles Bay, which served as port for Grumant). The name ‘Grumant’...

By Peter Prokosch

Brünnich’s guillemot, Hinlopen Strait, SvalbardBrünnich’s guillemots number in their hundreds of thousands at this colony in Hinlopen Strait, between Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet in Svalbard. A migratory species that winters normally winters off the waters of Icela...

By Bjorn Alfthan

Towards Denali National Park, AlaskaThe Denali National Park is located in Interior Alaska and includes Denali (Mount McKinley), the highest mountain in North America at 6,194 m high.
The national park and preserve is over 24,500 km², of which 19,120 km² ...

By Peter Prokosch

Footprints of shorebirds and gulls on mud flats, Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park, GermanyThe rich food resources such as mollusks and worms available on the muddy seafloor of the Wadden Sea during low tide are intensively consumed by long distant migratory shorebirds to refuel fat reserves.